Sick Day
by unicornscoffee
Summary: Finn comes down with a cold, and unsuccessfully manages to hide it from Carson.
1. Chapter 1

She woke up with a racing pulse. "Ah, must have been a bad dream. I know I have reason enough to be haunted by nightmares," she thought. But then, other symptoms were beginning to make themselves known. A stuffy head, sore throat, and achy muscles primarily among them. "Oh no", she realized, "I'm sick! But I have an important mission to do today. Hmm, maybe if I hop in the shower I can at least hide the fact that I'm sick. And luckily Carson is still working, so I won't have to run into him. Not too easy to hide being sick from a doctor.

Getting out of bed, feeling dizzy, she knew it was going to take more than a shower to get through the day. Probably need an Advil or something. As she was finished showering, and was drying off, a huge coughing spell hit her.

The bathroom door opened and Carson came in, seeing her doubled over coughing, helped support her through the coughing paroxysms with a worried look. "Come on, and get back into bed. You're not going anywhere today," he said.

"But I'm fine, it's just a small cough."  
"Oh really? And where did you get your medical degree? I'll use my authority as CMO to keep you in bed, if I have to," he said with finality.  
"Ugh, fine, you win." (She knew it was pointless to argue about being sick with him, he tended to take even the smallest problems and make a big deal out of them.) He helped her change, get into bed, and then went about checking her temperature. "Hmm, it's 101.3, you're officially sick. Take two of these pills" (and handed her two nighttime cold pills) "they'll help you with the cough, and will make you sleepy. Rest well my love; I'll be back to check on you later.

"Okay, thanks", she replied with a tired smile.


	2. Chapter 2

_ There was fire, rubble, and fighting everywhere she turned. The cries of the dying filled her ears; it was inescapable. The Wraith were destroying these people. People who but a few days ago didn't even know what that Wraith existed, let alone outside, alien species. No matter how many she and her team killed, they kept pouring into the streets.  
"Commander Finn, the city is lost! We have to evacuate those we can, and plan a new course of action!"  
"But we can't! There are too many civilians still here! If we leave now the rest won't have a fighting chance," Finn shouted hoarsely.  
Then the world is going up in smoke; the last thing she heard was her dying mother's shout to get away. _

"Finn, come on love, wake up," someone soothed at her. "Huh, what?" she replies, waking up with a start. "It's okay, it's just me, Carson," he replies, "that must have been some dream, I could hardly wake you up. Are you okay? Want to talk about it?"

"I dreamt of my home, when the Wraith attacked. I couldn't save everyone, and then I saw my mother, half dead from a Wraith feeding…" (Here she broke off, breath hitching, and angrily wiping at a tear).  
"Hush now, you did everything you could, no one's blaming you for the choices you made." He gave her a small hug.

"Thanks" (she sniffed) "you always know just what to say".  
"I was wondering if I could take your temperature, see how you're doing", he asked. After checking it, and seeing it at 102.9, sighed, saying: "You're fever's gotten worse, I'm afraid I'm going to need to take you to the infirmary, so I can keep a closer eye on you."

"What? No, come on, I'm fine here…." (Her sentence was cut off by an annoying coughing paroxysm, her body betraying how sick she was). "Mmmhmm," he replied, "I can see that."

As they were making their way to the infirmary, Finn leaning on Carson with some reluctance, someone passing by them inquired if she was okay. Finn replied, with some sarcasm, that, "a cold apparently needs to be supervised".

She changed into scrubs and settled into a bed, grudgingly accepting the IV put into her hand. "I know you aren't too happy about being here, but you'll fair much better with antibiotics in you, rather than some nighttime cold pills".

"I still say my bed is a bit more comfortable than sleeping here," she replied.

"Now, now, don't get cheeky with me. Get some rest, you're going to feel better if you do," he said, giving her a supportive pat on the shoulder, then heading to do his rounds.

Pulling the thin sheet up to her chin, she mumbled to herself; "If he wasn't so damn cute, I'd probably put up more of an argument." She closed her eyes, and surprisingly managed to fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

"So what do you think is causing it?" a nurse asked.  
"We can't know for sure, not until the blood tests come back", said another nurse. They were watching Finn sleep, tossing and turning, moaning incoherently. Her fever had taken a turn for the worse, and they were struggling to keep her temperature down. She was under a cooling blanket, and had on an oxygen mask. "Let's just hope the results come back soon, because her body can't take all of this strain. Having this high a temperature for too long is going to do a lot of damage."

Carson was watching her sleep, pressing a cold cloth to her face and neck while he waited for her to wake up. They found what the cause of her illness was, and wanted to let her know that everything possible was being done to get the cure back to the city. As he was checking her vital signs, he felt the limp hand he was holding weakly curl around his own. "Hey there", he said with a small smile, "How are you feeling?"  
"Terrible", she whispered. "Why am I wearing this mask? What's… what's going on?"

"We've found what's been making you so sick. A pathogen in your blood, you picked it up on your last mission. A small team went back to the planet, apparently the locals have a cure for it."  
"No! I have to go! The others, they need me! They can't make it without me", she said hoarsely.  
That made Carson confused. "What are you talking about my love?" Then it clued in. She was hallucinating. "No, you have to stay in bed. You're sick, and not going anywhere. Help has been sent, and the others are going to be fine."

But that didn't soothe her mind. She tried to get out of bed, but Carson had a hold of her, and gently pushed her back against the bed with almost no effort. She was extremely weak; it was her hallucination that was giving her strength. He knew she was in a lot of pain, and decided to give her a mild sedative to relax.  
Her frenzied actions were slowly relaxing, thanks to the medication. "Can't stay here…have to go…need my sword…" her voice then trailed off, as she drifted off into a fretful sleep. He brushed the damp hair off of her forehead, saying, "We'll get the cure back here as soon as possible, I promise you. I won't let you suffer from this anymore."

"Dr. Beckett, we have the cure from that village", said a scientist running up to the doctor's office.

"Thank god", Carson says in relief. It had been a day since she last woke up, and she had seized twice from the high fever. He quickly put the medicine into a syringe, and pushed it into Finn's IV. Finn promptly woke up, vomiting over the side of the bed. A nearby nurse came with a bucket, supporting her while she was sick. "What was that?" Finn asked, feeling nauseous.

"The cure I mentioned before, and I'm sorry, but vomiting immediately is one of the reactions."  
"Thanks…but maybe give me some notice beforehand?" she said, gratefully taking a damp cloth from a nurse.

It was a few days later, and Finn was feeling much better, the fever gone, and feeling only a bit weakened from the ordeal. She came up behind Carson, who was doing paperwork at his desk, and gave him a big hug. "Thanks for helping me get better".

"You don't have to thank me for that, it's my job silly", he replied, kissing her lightly.  
"Ha-ha, I guess you're right. Well, anyway, I was going to go down to the mess hall to grab some dinner, care to join me?"

"Of course, I'm starving."  
They walked out of the infirmary, holding hands, happy that she came out of the situation unscathed, so that they could enjoy dinner together, and perhaps more intimate stuff, when the night progressed.


End file.
